Come, Sail Away!

Although Olympic officials have declared the water of the sailing competition to be algae-free, China's President Hu Jintao traveled to Qingdao to ensure that the Olympic sailing site is positively, undoubtedly Olympic-ready. 

As you can see from the video, clearing the site was a massive undertaking, with over 100,000 volunteers, and 20,000 boats. When Hu visited, however, much of the algae had been cleared away, ensuring smooth sailing during the Games.  Instead of talking with frustrated sailors who wondered whether or not they could compete, he spoke with individuals who were confidently looking forward to competing in these Olympics.

All things considered, the International Sailing Federation probably couldn't have asked for better publicity.  Sailing doesn't generally even come close to getting the type of publicity of sports like gymnastics, basketball, or swimming, but this year's sailing venue has received unprecedented media attention.

I'm sure Olympic officials would prefer that this media attention wasn't caused by hundreds of millions of tons of algae polluting the city.  But with the exception of some Chinese version of the Loch Ness monster emerging from Qingdao's waters or a team of mermaids rescuing a drowning sailor, it would be difficult to find a more shocking sailing story.